Montreal Chocolate Show | It’s good for morale

No matter what, sometimes you have to cheer yourself up and, on Friday, the Montreal Chocolate Show was a popular place to get a good dose of dopamine.

Although it was 11 a.m. on a weekday, there were many of them at the heart of Complexe Desjardins in looking for a little chocolate happiness.

Dozens of people learned how to make a chocolate mojito with Juliette Brun, founder of Juliette et Chocolat. And there was a rush in front of all the kiosks, most of them far too small. We discussed, we examined, we tasted pieces of chocolate the size inversely proportional to the price of cocoa. In other words, tiny.

“I tasted a Haitian guava chocolate. It was still very original! », told me Elisabeth, a great lover of dark chocolate who came to discover what is done elsewhere in the world. Her exhibitor tour did not disappoint. “They are generous in the tastings. » To which her friend Michelle hastened to add, with a smile and a mocking eye: “We have spotted the most generous ones and we are going to go back and see them! »

The lovely elders were not bothered or shocked by the prices. Artisans sell their 50 gram tablets for $10 or even $12 each.

It must be said that the raw material, cocoa, experienced a surge at the start of the year. On the 120-day futures market, a tonne approached US$12,000, the highest in almost 50 years.

The price has fallen back to around US$7,000, but remains very high. For 10 years, a ton has sold for around $2,500.

Like other crops, cocoa is affected by climate change and disease. The shortage, in a context of increased demand, could not fail to have an impact.

It’s not for nothing that there was talk of refilling at Halloween, even if there is very little cocoa in the industrial treats distributed to children. Shortly before, the price of large President’s Choice dark chocolate bars had sparked reactions on social networks among those who had missed the news on the world price of cocoa. At $8.49 for 300 grams, can we really call it “theft”? It’s not serious.

The surge in prices still forces us to think about the future of chocolate, about what it could become. The equivalent of saffron, caviar, truffle?

At a few dollars a mouthful, has chocolate – artisanal, quality chocolate that contains a lot of cocoa and very little sugar – become a luxury in the same way as champagne? “I don’t want to say it’s champagne. It’s a refined dish, but not luxurious,” he replied. the president of the first edition of the Montreal Chocolate Show, Jean-François Kacou.

This show promotes the work of artisans, and “obviously, there is a cost to this work which must be respected,” adds the Ivorian by birth who immigrated to Canada in 2012.

His role as president, which he agreed to assume voluntarily, is therefore a happy return to his roots, Ivory Coast being one of the main cocoa producers in the world.

Today, he is concerned about questions of fairness towards farmers who are “the least paid in the chain” of production. Moreover, the show presents a documentary on an organic plantation where one of the best cocoa in the world is produced and conferences on the global industry.

As you walk from kiosk to kiosk, you also discover the attention to detail of our artisans, through their original packaging. But above all, we are struck by the omnipresence of colors in the boxes opened on the tables. Next to it, brown suddenly seems… brown. Almost too banal.

David Landman’s creations are pretty, sparkling little works of art. The chocolatier from L’Anse-Saint-Jean, between Tadoussac and Saguenay, explains with great enthusiasm that “chocolate is a vector for making things known.” Like sweet clover, rosehip flower and tansy, which is reminiscent of chamomile. He hands me a Mason jar so I can discover the scent. It’s very true.

“Colors allow me to convey flavors that people would never taste. You need color. We live in a dull world…” adds the artisan who only offers local flavors and who works with the pickers.

David Landman is right. We live in a world that will always need a little more color and softness. And in the middle of the gray of November, with the depressing news that follows one another, chocolate is a precious ally to boost your morale at a reasonable cost. If we can be reasonable.